The Top 10 New Sports Posters of 2012

It’s that time of the year – Top 10 time! Here is a review of our top 10 new posters of 2012.

11. All right, we couldn’t quite narrow it down to 10, so we’ll start with one that could have been left off the list, but holds a soft spot in our hearts:

Jeremy Lin “Broadway Hit” – Photofile 16×20

During that February-March period in the sports calendar we normally call the “ESPN Dead Zone”, a little-known third-string point guard emerged from the shadows to light Manhattan, and the NBA universe, on fire! Jeremy Lin spun that miraculous run with the Knicks into a $25 million contract with the Houston Rockets to become the face of that franchise. Lin Houston Rockets posters to come in 2013…

10. Another little cheat on the “Top 10″ format here. We couldn’t make room for both of the world’s top soccer stars, so we combined them under one entry:

Cristiano Ronaldo “Superstar” Real Madrid Action Poster (2012/13)

Lionel Messi “Concentration” FC Barcelona Poster (2012/13)

These spectacular posters come from our exclusive North American distribution agreement with the official Real Madrid and Barcelona poster publisher. Flown in from Granada, Spain just in time for Christmas 2012!

9. Our final “cheat” – the two baseball stars for whom the word “phenom” hardly suffices:

Mike Trout “Stealing Third” – Photofile 16×20

Bryce Harper “Launch” – Costacos 2012

Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, who starred as rookies at ages 20 and 19, respectively, will be subject of many, many more posters in the years to come!

8. There are few institutions that represent good-old American values of intellectual, moral, and physical greatness better than Notre Dame – and in 2012, Notre Dame was back!

Notre Dame Football “A Celebration of 125 Years” Panoramic Print

On the way to a perfect season and their first chance at National Championship glory since 1988, Blakeway Worldwide Panoramas stopped in to South Bend, Indiana to take this spectacular rare night-game shot of the legendary stadium, during the mid-season victory over rival Michigan.

7. Now this one’s both historic, and cool!

“From Kentucky to the NBA” (5 Draft Picks) – Costacos 2012

The dominating 2012 Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champions, sent no less than five of its stars to the NBA via the NBA Draft: Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb. This amazing poster flies each player to his rookie-year destination from Lexington, in time for opening night!

6. Celebrate, Giants fans – Eli and the boys did the impossible yet again, and knocked off Brady and “Hoodie” in the big game!

This poster brings the Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants alive with amazing style, including shots of Eli Manning with the MVP trophy, and Mario Manningham making his ridiculous game-saving sideline grab.

Credit for this amazing piece goes to our friend, photographer Brad Mangin (@BradMangin on Twitter), who was live in the photographer’s pit in San Francisco to capture all three moments-of-contact for Pablo Sandoval in his historic 3-HR Game 1 of the 2012 World Series.

4. You know you’re something when an entire nation knows you by five simple letters at the age of 22: RGIII!

Like Trout and Harper above, we’re quite certain that this phenom will be the subject of many, many more posters in the future. Combining humility, personality, and absolutely sick skills, Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins has a chance to become a transcendent national superstar, a Michael Jordan of football. Here’s hoping the folks at Costacos step up with some even better designs, and make him a lock for #1 in 2013!

3. More than 100 years of history, celebrating the world’s #1 sporting spectacle!

From an otherwise ho-hum year in MMA came this barnburner of a fight in Montreal – when hometown favorite Georges St-Pierre came back from a long layoff to take down Carlos Condit and prove himself once again to be pound-for-pound the greatest fighter in the game! This poster has it all, too – spectacular golden hues, all the event details, and the perfect belt-to-belt face-off shot that screams intensity. We are pleased to be the UFC’s exclusive retailer in the poster specialty market, giving us access to the official posters that are otherwise only seen on bar and restaurant walls!

The core of the dominating NBA Champion Miami Heat, each flushing down a slam, showing off the three styles of Heat uniforms, with awesome superhero-inspired graphics – this one truly has it all, one for the ages. If 2012 was the start of a new NBA dynasty, then this one will remain on fans’ walls for a long, long time.